ESPN broadcaster Mike Tirico speaks before a game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills in Foxborough, Mass., on Sept. 14, 2009.
Photo Credit: AP / Steven Senne

ESPN named Sean McDonough its new play-by-play man for “Monday Night Football” on Monday, an hour after NBC said Mike Tirico will start there on July 1 after 25 years at ESPN — the last 10 calling its Monday night NFL games.

Calling the job “the dream of a lifetime,” McDonough grew emotional during a conference call to announce his new assignment, especially when he spoke of his late father, Will, a famed football writer and a pioneer for writers appearing on TV.

The opportunity came when Tirico bowed out, making McDonough only the fifth man to hold that job in 47 seasons of “Monday Night Football.”

Keith Jackson did it for only the first season in 1970, meaning that for the past 45 seasons, only Frank Gifford, Al Michaels and Tirico have filled that role.

McDonough, 53, and Tirico, 49, are Syracuse alumni and share an agent in Sandy Montag. They spoke highly of one another on their conference calls, part of what ESPN vice president Jay Rothman called a “seamless transition.”

He said of McDonough, “Sean is one of my greatest, closest friends, and any chair that Sean McDonough sits in is in great hands.”

McDonough, who recalled being allowed to stay up late to watch Monday night games in the 1970s, began his call by warning reporters he might cry. “I’m an emotional guy and this has been a very emotional experience for me,” he said. “I’m one of those guys who cries watching cartoons.”

McDonough has relatively little NFL experience on his play-by-play resume, but he has done extensive work calling college football.

He is known for a biting sense of humor as well as a willingness to express sharp opinions. He said Rothman told him that is the sort of thing they want from him and his partner, Jon Gruden.

“They wanted a sense of humor and some personality,” McDonough said, but he emphasized that it must come naturally within the flow of a telecast.

“The game is the most important thing,’’ he said, “and there isn’t anybody who’s done a better job of presenting the game than this group I’m joining.”

Said Rothman: “He has a great sense of humor, very quick-witted. He will give Jon Gruden a run for his money in the busting-of-chops category.”

McDonough said he wondered if his career had plateaued and whether ESPN still viewed him as a candidate to be the lead voice of a major property. He was assured he was. “I’m glad I persevered,” he said.

McDonough said his brother, Terry, the Cardinals’ vice president of player personnel, had to take a break before the start of the NFL Draft to gather himself after Sean called with the news that he was getting the Monday night job.

Both were thinking of their father. “My dad, I think, was one of the most important people in terms of the media in the history of the league,” Sean said.

The transition in the Monday night booth comes amid ongoing changes in ESPN’s NFL studio personnel. The Big Lead reported Monday that Cris Carter and Ray Lewis were on their way out and Randy Moss on his way in.